Star Wars Saga Edition, 4th Edition, Battleground Fantasy Warfare

I haven’t posted much lately because things have been developing on the home front, making it impossible to participate in our usual Monday night games.

However, I did want to put down some brief thoughts on some games.

First off, Star Wars Saga Edition. I’ve got it, read it and done some brief playtesting. So far, I can say it’s absolutely brilliant. The smoothest running d20 product that Wizards has released to date. It doesn’t feel like a d20 conversion like previous editions, this one really captures the feel of Star Wars.

I could go on and on, but maybe you’d really be much better of checking out www.d20radio.com. These guys have put together a great podcast and forum focused entirely on Saga Edition. Their podcast is full of great rules discussion and their forum community is growing every day.

One more thought on Saga Edition: this could easily be converted for any other pulp, modern or sci-fi game. Just take out the jedi and suddenly you can run Serentity/Firefly-based games. You could use the same rules to create Indiana Jones-style pulp adventures. Sure as the GM you would have to write up your own adversaries and gear, but based on the material in the core rulebook that shouldn’t be too hard.

On to D&D 4th edition. The latest round of previews have me convinced this is going to be a great game. As I’ve written about before, I think there is entirely too much angst out there in gamer-land over this change in editions. If you don’t like it, don’t play it.

One piece of information has really caught my attention. In a recent episode of the Gamer Radio Zero podcast, WotC’s Andy Collins said 4E has been playtested by 668 people. Think about that number for a minute. Not every game will credit their playtesters. Those that do typically list fewer than 20 names. But WotC has gathered input from nearly 700 people! That’s an insane amount of feedback. It gives me hope that this game will hit the ground running as a smooth-running, fun-to-play system.

Finally, one last game. As someone without a lot of free time, I think Battleground Fantasy Warfare is an absolute godsend. For those who don’t know, it’s basically a miniatures wargame without the miniatures. Instead it is played with pre-printed cards, with each card representing a separate unit. Everything you need to run the unit is printed on the card: stats, special rules, damage tracker, cool 3d art and a little bit of flavor text describing the unit.

And here comes the good part: it’s really inexpensive. All you need is a starter deck for one army, which will set you back about $15. If you want, you can buy a reinforcement deck for about the same price. That’s it. That’s all you need to invest to have every single unit for a given army. Compare that to nearly any other mass-battle game. Quite frankly, there is no comparison.

Oh, did I forget to mention: no painting. No spending hours getting your miniatures ready for the table. Just pick up your cards and play.

But what about the gameplay, you ask? It is surprisingly complex yet smooth. The designers also did a great job of capturing the feel and flavor of the different armies. For examply, the Ravenwood Elves are shifty, hard to hit and thrive as skirmishers. The High Elves hit often, hit hard, but are few in number and can’t take a lot of damage. The Lizardmen are fast, deadly in melee and are tough, tough SOBs.

I can’t recommend this game enough. For more info, check out www.yourmovegames.com.

Edition Angst - D&D & 40K

There have been a lot rumors flying around the internet about a 5th edition for Warhammer 40k. At the same time, Wizards of the Coast is preparing to release the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Both developments are creating a lot of buzz, anxiety and angst among fans of both games.

What strikes me is WOTC and Games Workshop are taking two diametrically opposed approaches to these new editions. GW has not even confirmed that a new edition of 40k is in the works. As the saying goes, in the absence of information there is only speculation. There are huge threads on message boards rambling on and on about what’s going to happen to the game, how will this impact my army, does this mean all  the miniatures I’ve collected are now going to be under-powered under the new rules.

WOTC on the other hand had a big announcement at last year’s GenCon, has designers and developers posting regular updates on their forums, is talking about the new edition in its podcasts and has even put two compilations of design notes out on the market for sale. 

I’ve seen WOTC take a lot of criticism for this approach, but I personally think it’s brilliant. They must be actively seeking the criticism to put these design concepts out there. They receive nearly instantaneous feedback from their fans about the new rules. Add this to their playtests and it seems WOTC is going to have a pretty good idea how 4th edition will be received by fans of the game.

The other night I was in my local Barnes & Noble looking at D&D books when a couple of guys came in, picked up one of the 4th edition preview books and immediately started chatting about the game. We struck up a conversation. They told me about their campaigns and their favorite characters (One had a stormlord with some gauntlet that created a never-ending supply of javelins. If you know the prestige class, you know that makes him uber-powerful. Not sure I would allow that if I were DM.)

They were young guys and had never played 1st or 2nd edition D&D, so they never had to go through this kind of change before. But they were looking forward to it. They liked the idea of 30 level classes, new core races, new spellcasting systems, the works.

The conversation made me feel good about the future of D&D and re-affirmed my commitment to dive in to the new rules. These were young players, focused on building up their characters and having fun. They want new ways to do that.

GW, on the other hand, is playing its cards very close to the vest. Maybe it’s because they’re in a different market position that WOTC. GW has competition from a lot of different miniatures games and more are popping up all the time. WOTC has the corporate backing of Hasbro, so it can take some chances.

 Whatever the case, GW’s strategy is creating a lot of angst and rabid speculation among gamers. One could argue that any publicity is good publicity, but GW’s way of thinking is resulting in a sort of random buzz that doesn’t really help the company refine its thinking about 5th edition 40k, if indeed it does exist.

By contract, WOTC is receiving a lot of feedback on its new rules, which will hopefully help them create a better game.

I love both games and hope that they turn out well. At this point, however, I have a little more faith in WOTC’s ability to deliver than GW.

A Busy Gamer’s Guide to Fragging

The holiday rush hit like freight train this year, so I haven’t had much time lately to get in much gaming. That means I’ve had very little to write about…until now.

Video games have taken a back seat in my gaming life this year for many reasons. When time is a limited resource, you have to make some choices. However, I recently picked up a game which may bring me back in front of the TV: Unreal Tournament 3 for the PS3.

Simply put, this is a game that can be enjoyed in small doses. All of the fast, insane action that made Unreal famous is here.  So are the deadly and delicious variety of weapons, especially old favorites like the flak cannon.

There are some beautifully rendered cut scenes showing off the power of the Unreal engine, but these serve only to put the barest of stories on the bones of this slick shooter. The real draw is the action, which UT3 serves up in nice healthy portions.

The game offers three modes, which all work well for someone who can devote less than an hour per play session. The game plays so fast you can squeeze in few deathmatch rounds in no time at all. Or you can work your way through the single-player campaign. I’ve played through a few campaign missions, which are a little too easy on the default difficulty. Ratchet that up a little and you have a worthwhile challenge.

The same goes for the off-line instant action options, which offer all of the multiplayer gameplay modes. The artificial intelligence of the bots can be tweaked, giving you the option of running around maps to learn where all the weapons. Or you can face off against some fairly stiff competition. For me, this works. Off-line I don’t have to worry about outside factors, like my daughter waking up early from her nap.

Of course, mulitplayer is where UT3 stands out. I usually stick to deathmatch, since it lets me get in a few quick games in no time at all. I have no illusions about my skills or any aspirations of being top dog in the online world.  I may get pOWNed, but it’s fast and fun.

For me, the bottom line is this: UT3 offers all the polish of a top-shelf title in small digestable portions. It’s not the deepest game, but it suits my needs.

Solo Wargaming

I’ve been on the lookout for some time for a good set of rules for solo wargaming. Sometimes you just can’t meet up with your regular group, or sometimes you just have to strike while you’ve got a spare hour or two when everyone else in the house is taking a nap on a Saturday afternoon.
That brought me to the rules for 5150. a science-fiction skirmish game by a company called Two Hour Wargames. These rules are intended for multiple players, but they happen to work really well for solo games.. I gave the rules a quick playtest over the weekend and I have to say I’m quite impressed.
The big drawback to any kind of solo gaming is there really is no good way to simulate a human opponent. 5150 doesn’t quite do it either. Instead, it uses a system called reaction checks to determine how forces on both sides act during an encounter. It’s really simple, roll some dice, compare the results to your basic stats and consult the tables provided in the rule book.
5150 does a great job of setting up different reactions for different phases of an encounter. For example, you have to take an in-sight check when an opponent comes in to view. When a unit is fired on, it takes a “received fire” check to determine how it reacts.
This really takes away any chance a player has to “rig” a solo game, unless you fudge the dice rolls. And then you’re only screwing yourself.
One of the best things about 5150 is it allows you to use any figures you want from any system or range of miniatures. Brilliant. I played a skirmish between a tactical squad of space marines from Warhammer 40k and a detachment of Dragonov Kommandos from AT-43 supported by a combat strider.
The 5150 rules contain army lists for a variety of forces, which are generic enough to adapt to your gaming needs. It was simple to come up with lists for my game.
I breezed through the battle quickly. Despite the name of the company, these games can be played well under two hours.
The only drawback is the relatively poor production quality of the rules set. They are spiral bound and its easy to see these were a labor of love, not a slick booklet from a production house. Still, the content is there. If anything, I’m thinking about photocopying out certain pages to avoid flipping pages back and forth as I search for the appropriate table.
So if you’re looking for a simple, relatively crunchy and fun-to-play set of rules, give 5150 a shot.

Painting Gaming Miniatures in 6 easy steps

No question, one of the biggest hurdles for any tabletop wargamer to overcome is assembling and painting your army. It’s tedious, time consuming and expensive.

It’s taken about five months, but I now have a 2500+ point Blood Angels army for Warhammer 40k that compares favorably against most of the stuff I see being played at my local gaming shop. For those who don’t play 40k, I’m talking about assembling and painting more than 50 models (troops, tanks and other vehicles.) Maybe that sounds like a lot, maybe it doesn’t. Given my schedule, I feel satisfied with my progress.

To get to this point, I’ve followed certain guidelines. These are not specific techniques such as spray painting or dry brushing, but philosophies that shape the whole process.

1)     Decide how good is good enough. This is the most important step, in my opinion. How detailed does your paint job have to be before you are satisfied? More detail means more work and more time. Two guys I play 40k with are on two ends of that spectrum. One is happy to quickly paint his models. The other is very meticulous. I decided to come down somewhere in the middle.

2)     Be organized. All my painting and modeling supplies for a current project are in one box, ready to go as soon as the kid falls asleep. If I’m working on a squad, it is sitting in a box (covered to prevent them from collecting dust or sustaining other damage.)  With this arrangement, I can have my supplies and models laid out, ready for more work in a matter of minutes. I don’t have to waste time digging around for a brush or tube of super glue.

3)     Set reasonable goals for a day’s or night’s work. If you’ve only got an hour, then decide how much work you want to do in that hour. It may mean simply cutting pieces off of a sprue. It may mean base coating just a few models. The point is to set a reasonable goal so you can feel like you’ve gotten something accomplished in the time you have available. Once I’ve met that goal, it’s usually time to pack up my supplies and do something else anyway.

4)     It’s okay to buy. I’ve purchased some models from Ebay which were either partially painted or assembled and ready to paint. Watch those auctions carefully. I made sure I wasn’t paying more than retail, including shipping. If you can find a squad that’s already assembled, ready to paint, then you’ve saved yourself a lot of time. Even if the models are already painted, there’s nothing stopping you from repainting them to match your color scheme.

5)     Use assembly line production. Plan out the process so you can do your work in stages. Cut all the pieces for your squad off the sprues and use Ziploc bags to organize them. Next time you’ll be able to quickly assemble your models. When painting, do a layer on each model you’re working on before moving on to the next step. You’ll save time cleaning your brushes and be much more efficient overall.

6)     When you’re done, you’re done. Sometimes you just want to add a little more detail. I try to resist the urge. When I reach whatever level of detail I originally decided on, I stop.

These guidelines have helped me, but they’re not for everybody. In the end, you have to do what you’re happy with. These ideas have helped me field an army that I enjoy playing.

True neutral: Balancing gaming and the rest of your life

If you’re a grown-up gamer like me, you’ve got a busy schedule. Work, family, friends, other social commitments, the demands on your time go on and on.  Finding time to game is a challenge.

One of the most significant issues: making sure other people in your life are cool with you putting time into something which doesn’t involve them. Your significant other probably does not game and has no interest in learning. Your kids may be too young or too “cool” to participate. However, they are part of your life and, admittedly, are a higher priority than racking up more medals in some on-line battlefield or clearing out the next room in a dungeon crawl.

For me, what works is being fully engaged with my family. That way, no one feels like they are being short-changed when I take some time to game, either at a video game console or with friends.

It’s all about priorities.

Time to game

I’m one of those gamers who grew up alongside the industry. By the industry, I mean both video and tabletop games. Now I’m an adult, with a family and a demanding job. Free time is a precious commodity, and little of it can be devoted to gaming.

I plan to use this blog to discuss my thoughts on how busy adults can continue to enjoy the hobbies that have been part of their lives for so long. Whether its a dungeon crawl, a tabletop battlefield or an electronic saga of life and death, there are still adventures to be had by gamers of my generation. After all, gaming as we know it wouldn’t exist without all the dollars we’ve spent supporting this industry.

Disclaimer: I don’t work for any game company nor am I related to anyone who does. In fact, I don’t know anyone who does.

First topic: Boxed games. If you’re a fan of pen and paper RPGs or miniatures wargames, today there are great new options which blend the best of both worlds. A new breed of games offers really cool adventures that can be enjoyed in a single evening. No more depending on the GM to build a detailed campaign world. No more painting dozens of minis. Just pick up and play.

My current favorite example: Tannhauser from Fantasy Flight Games. This is a game played on a board using highly detailed, pre-painted miniatures. In practice, the game plays out like a miniatures skirmish game, with movement, combat and a really innovative system that governs line of sight.

But there’s more to Tannhauser than just combat. It’s set in a very interesting alternate history in which World War I went on much, much longer. The Germans have discovered magic, the Americans have high-tech sci-fi weaponry. The rules allow you to develop objective based games which can easily be strung together by imaginative players into a campaign.

Or you can simply play quick deathmatch games with your buddies. Whatever the case, everything you need is in one box. There’s a short rule book to read, cleverly presented as an FAQ.

Give it a try. It plays fast, has dynamic rules and really channels that “pulp” feel that is experiencing something of a renaissance right now.